Rumor
by manystuff
Summary: There's a rumor going around the small town known as Smallville. Apparently, the residents are sure Lois Lane and Clark Kent have feelings for each other. So sure they could bet you on it.


**_Author's notes: Hey guys, wrote this one to celebrate the new year. Hope you all like it, it came to me recently and I wrote it surprisingly fast._****_Please pay attention to the dates so you don't get confused!_****_Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville or it's characters._**

* * *

**_Rumor_**

**August 15th, 2009**

Lia Malbrock was a waitress at the Talon since she was in High School. When she graduated, she decided to attend college in Smallville, unlike the others who dreamt bigger. She loved this little town, everything about it. Specially the rumors.

One particular rumor was her current favorite: Lois and Clark. They went to grab coffee at the Talon everyday in the morning and somedays they showed up in the afternoon as well. She relished the day they did, they were the ones when the rumors would go crazier. Unlike many other rumors or gossip, she hadn't started this one. It started naturally, someone after someone noticing something different everyday.

By now, every staff member of the Talon knew who Lois and Clark were. They already knew Clark Kent, since he was the owner's son, but now they knew the other side of him, the one he only showed when Lois was around.

When they showed up together for the first time since she worked there, she was still on her senior year, the year she started working at the Talon. Apparently the both of them had graduated a few years before her. They were both dressed in professional clothes and she soon figured out they worked together at the Daily Planet, but lived in Smallville. Lois lived at the apartament right up the stairs, she had seen her before, but never with Clark. As she had seen Clark before, but never with Lois. But that night, they had come together.

When they sat at one of the tables and became engrossed in their conversation, she was sure they were very close. Maybe friends for years, best friends, even. By the time they left, she was certain they were dating. It turns out, she figured out later on, they weren't dating at all.

In fact, everyone she asked about it laughed like a maniac, saying Clark and Lois romantically linked would be the last thing to ever happen in the world. _And if it does, _her informant had said, _God help us all_.

Lia didn't understand what it meant, but she was sure it was an exaggeration. They looked good together, they fought like they secretely wanted to rip each other's clothes and they were a great reporting team, they worked wonderfully together.

A couple of years after that first encounter, she figured out a lot of things about them. They indeed were bestfriends; Martha Kent, the owner of the Talon, was as much as a mother for Clark as she was for Lois; they have a new office at the Daily Planet, partners, promoted as a package deal; they met in High School, senior year, by chance. If Lois' cousin hadn't disappeared, she would never had thought about coming to Smallville. There were a lot more little things Lia came to figure out, like the way Clark's eyes lingered on her, any part of her, and then he brushed his eyes, as if he was trying to understand why the male mind sometimes topped the just-friends-mind. Or maybe the way Lois always, _always_, rolled her eyes when a random woman talked to Clark with clear second intentions.

Nobody listened to her when she tried to say that they would eventually crack and just jump at each other. They said she was crazy, she was seeing things. But Lia knew better. Other people only saw the fight, the banter, the rolls of eyes, the frustrated sighs. She saw that and a lot more. Lia saw walls Lois' has built falling down one by one next to him, Lia saw whatever the burden it was that Clark carried easing away when she was around. And she knew, she just knew that one day, others would see it as well.

The day has come, and now there was a rumor going around. One about how close they had gotten, how much time they've been spending together out of work,how he smiles with her, how she laughes with him. All the things Lia had noticed years ago, they notice now only because it's grown, it's more visible as the years passed. The crack she was talking about? It's starting.

So, one particular day came, when suddenly everybody was more aware of Lois and Clark's presence. When everyone watched more closely, paid more attention to all the details Lia has been paying attention to since she was 18.

And that day, when Martha Kent visited the Talon for a quick inspection and a warm coffee, she noticed the distraction present in every employee's face. She looked toward the direction everybody seemed to be casually looking from time to time. Amateurs, Lia thought. They couldn't even pretend they weren't paying more attention than they should.

"Why is everybody so interested in them?" Martha had asked Lia, probably because she was the only one that didn't seem engrossed in figuring out what Clark and Lois were talking about.

"They're watching the show, Mrs. Kent." She answered while drying a cup. Martha raised an eyebrow, confused.

"The show?"

"Yeah, you know how Lois and Clark are..." Lia shrugged her shoulders. "Simply Lois and Clark."

"I see." Martha had said, but Lia knew she hadn't understood.

"I don't think you do just yet, Mrs. Kent." At her questioning gaze, Lia explained. "I've been serving their table for about two years now, and they always seem to surprise me with their stubborness."

"Well, the two of them have a lot of it, but I still don't understand-"

"Lois and Clark." Lia stated with a knowing look and widened her eyes for good mesure. "Together."

"What?" She seemed shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Nah, it's just a rumor that's been going around, but I tell you what..." Lia supported her weight on the balcony and asked Martha to get closer. She did. "...If it's not already happening, it definitely will."

And just like that, the rumor was spread.

* * *

Martha walked in the farmhouse with Lia's words in her mind. _'If it's not already happening, it definitely will.'_

For the life of her, she couldn't understand that even though she probably had looked very shocked and surprised to Lia's eyes, she wasn't surprised at all. Deep down, somewhere she could only call intuition, she knew this would happen eventually. When her son and Lois were younger, all they did was argue. As they grew up, they naturally became close friends, they helped each other frequently, were there for each other whenever they needed. But she should've known and acknowledged it when they started working together at the Planet. Since then, they became inseparable. They would do everything together by choice, even though they always said that working together as reportes required them to spend time together frequently, since they worked outside the Daily Planet building. But she always knew better.

Although her mind would say that they wanted to spend time together because they were such good friends, intuition said something else. She never acknowledged it until Lia's words rang inside her head. She was right, it would happen. She doubted it already had happened, but it would. Soon.

And there were the rumors. Many people came to her asking about her son's love life that day, and with Lia's information, she knew why. The Smallville ways of gossip. There was little to do in a small town besides gossiping.

The rumors went from something simple as_ 'they're dating' _to something absurd like_ 'they've eloped little time ago'_. She knew they weren't dating because if they were, Clark would've told her by now and-

"Mrs. Kent?" She heard someone calling for her. She turned around and saw Chloe sat by the kitchen's balcony.

"Oh hi, I didn't hear you." She answered. Martha wondered if Chloe had noticed Lois and Clark's gradual change through the years. She definitely couldn't know about the rumors because she now lived in Metropolis, and only casually visited...

"Mrs. Kent? Is everything alright?" She asked concerned. "You look distracted."

Martha weighted the pros and cons and, as she leaned in the kitchen balcony, she thanked God that Clark nor Lois were around so she could talk about this.

"There's a rumor going around..."

* * *

**September 1st, 2009**

Chloe had noticed that things had started to change since July, when Clark told Lois his secret. He told her he was the Blur and it brought them closer than ever. The rumors started in August, and now they were growing even stronger. She started visiting Smallville every week, sometimes even more than that. The gossiping was very interesting, there were some absurds that made her laugh, but other rumors were quite informative. Things she hadn't noticed before because it happened so, so gradually that it was hard to see if nobody pointed it out.

Now, as she watched them, she wondered how the heck she hadn't seen it before. It was so clear, so obvious.

"You should've seen Perry's face! It was hilarious." Lois told her and Clark followed her when they began to laugh so hard they had tears in their eyes. She grinned at the scene, not capturing really how funny it actually was, but finding their laughter funny enough.

That's another little thing about them she had noticed recently: laughter. The both of them had suffered quite a bit during the few years they had lived, but lately they have been so happy. It made her heart grow twice it's size. There were two people she loved so much, and they made each other just that much happier. What killed her though, is that they had no idea.

"I'm sure it was really funny." She said when they calmed down from the laughter.

"Anyways, we came here to see you, Chloe." Clark started. "I haven't been to Watchtower so much lately because of all the work in the Planet, and also because Oliver and Bruce said they were handling. I was just talking about that with Lois and she mentioned she hasn't seen you in a while, too." He continued and Lois nodded, confirming. Although Chloe has been visiting Smallville more frequently, much of her time was spent with Lia Malbrock and Martha, as they planned how they could bring Lois and Clark closer. So, it turns out she hadn't seen her cousin and her bestfriend that much. "I thought we could do something tonight, maybe a movie night." He suggested to both women.

"Of course-" She started, but Lois interrupted.

"I can't tonight, can't we do it tomorrow?" Lois asked and Clark looked at her confused.

"Yeah, that works too-" She was interrupted again, this time by Clark.

"Why not?"

"I have a date tonight." Lois answered.

Chloe's eyebrows shot up and she waited to see how the scene would unfold.

"With who?" Clark asked, clearly trying to sound casual and failing miserably.

"With Chris Kaden."

Chloe didn't recognize the name, but Clark apparently did. His eyes widened and he crossed his arms.

"That dude is a creep, Lois-"

"What are you talking about? He's a perfectly nice person!" She argued and crossed her arms, mirroing his actions. Oh if only Chloe had popcorn.

"He's already dated half of the Daily Planet." He argued right back.

"I don't see the problem. It's just a date." She said and turned to Chloe. "What do you think, Chloe?"

She thought for a moment. If she agreed with Clark, Lois would be mad at her, if she agrees with Lois, Clark's jelousy would increase, which would also increase the possibility of him realizing his feelings and making a move. The answer for what she had to say was clear.

"You should go on the date, Lo. I'm sure Chris is a good guy." She answered and Lois smiled triumphantly, Clark looked at her like she was crazy. Chloe shrugged her shoulders.

They talked for a bit more and then they left. Chloe was alone again at Watchtower, with many thoughts about them she wanted to share with someone. The two of them would drive her crazy pretty soon if they continued to dance around each other without realizing it.

When Oliver arrived at Watchtower just minutes after Lois and Clark left, Chloe thanked God she now had someone to talk to about her frustrations.

"Hey, Ollie? Can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

"So, it started out as rumor..."

* * *

**October 13th, 2009**

The Talon had a busy morning that day. Lia knew it was because the main attraction of the town: the two people sat together at the back of the room.

"Hey, Lois. Clark." She greeted as she took her little notepad and her pen out of her apron and opened it. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Lia." Lois smiled. "I'm going to have a piece of chocolate-" Lia was just strating to take notes when Clark interrupted.

"She's just having a toast, Lia. Me too."

Lia looked between the both of them like she was watching a tennis match, feeling the tension. She didn't know what to write down, and the silence started to bother her immensely.

"Excuse me?" Lois finally asked him and Lia watched as Clark swallowed. But he was just as determined as Lois, so Lia assumed he gathered some courage and spoke.

"You've said yourself you're not feeling alright, Lois. You can't have chocolate cake. You're probably not feeling well _because _of chocolate cake. I honestly can't understand how you can eat that much junk food and still look-" Clark stopped himself and both Lia and Lois raised an eyebrow. He cleared his throat. "Anyways, it's better if you don't have chocolate cake." He finished.

Lois was quiet for a moment and watched Clark. Then, she looked up at Lia.

"Like I was saying, Lia, I'm going to have a piece of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee." She said, completely ignoring everything Clark just said.

She looked between both of them again, Clark rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you later when you call me asking chicken soup for your stomach ache." He crossed his arms.

Lois smiled up at him. "Ok, I won't say you didn't warn me. But are you going to bring me the soup anyways?" She asked, already knowing the answer judging by the glint in her eyes.

Clark rolled his eyes again and sighed frustrated.

"Yes." He muttered, looking down at his hands.

Lia smiled at the interaction thinking it might have been the cutest thing she's ever seen. She wrote down the orders and went to get their food and drinks. When she got to the balcony, one of the other waitresses, Jenna, said something that made her intriguied.

"I bet you $20 the two of them are together by the end of this month."

The sentence stuck on her mind like glue and, later that night, she had an idea. _The idea._ She looked down at the twenty dollar bill she had on her hand and smiled.

* * *

**November 3rd, 2009**

"Spread the word, there's a bet going on. They say the money is already up to a thousand dollars." One of Chloe's friends that worked at the Talon told her.

"A thousand dollars? A bet in Smallville? What's this about?" She asked.

"If you want to participate, you only have to give a name, a phone number and twenty dollars to Lia Malbrock, the one that works here." He said. "The name doesn't have to be your real name, it's okay to keep it anonymous as long as you give her the right phone number."

"Ok, but what's the bet about?" Chloe asked again, confused at conspiratory tone her friend had suddenly taken.

"It's about Lois and Clark." He told her with a smile and Chloe widened her eyes. "You pick a date, any date with day, month and year. When and if Clark and Lois publicly show any clear romantic action, the person who chose the closest date wins the money."

Chloe stood quiet for a moment. People in Smallville were really taking the rumors to another level. Not that she didn't believe Lois and Clark would soon crack and get together, but never thought about using it as a bet.

However, twenty bucks isn't much, if she happened to participate and lose, it would at least have been fun to imagine what she could do with an extra thousand dollars on her hands. She breathed in and searched her pocket for a twenty dollar bill. When she found it, she gave it to her friend and told him to give it to Lia. He agreed.

Chloe grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down her phone number and thought about which date she'd choose. Considering where Lois and Clark were now, dancing around each other but having no idea they were doing so, Chloe thought it wouldn't happen as soon as next week, but it probably wouldn't take that much longer. Clark was getting broody again, which meant he was overthinking things, which meant he was starting to notice one thing or another. Yeah, it wouldn't take too long.

She wrote it down. _November 30th, 2009_.

* * *

**December 31st, 2009**

**9:30 PM**

Lia adjusted her blue dress for the last time before entering the Talon. She was off duty tonight, but she was invited by the lovely Martha Kent to the New Year's party she would be hosting there.

As she entered, she noticed it was already full and lively. She was a little late, fashionably late, so she had seen it coming.

Greeting some familiar faces in the way, she went directly to Martha.

"Mrs. Kent!" She called and Martha turned to her with a grin.

"Lia, honey." She hugged Lia. "I'm glad you made it. You look beautiful. Now tell me..." Martha lowered her voice considerably. "...did you bring the list? I'm feeling something will happen tonight."

The list Martha talked about was the one Lia had made with names and dates. The list that would reveal who would win the bet going on about Lois and Clark. Lia didn't really remember someone asking for December 31st, but it didn't matter. The winner would be the closest date, it didn't need to be the exact date. And she knew Martha had betted her twenty bucks on December 25th, which meant she was pretty close. She would need to check the list later to see if she was the closest.

"I did bring the list, Mrs. Kent." Lia answered. "Are they here yet?" She asked, looking around.

"Yes, right by the stage." Martha answered and Lia's head snapped to the improvised stage made for the live musicians. They were there and she was surprised to see Clark's arm over Lois' shoulder and his mouth glued to the side of her head, whispering something in her ear that made her grin widely. Lia raised an eyebrow and looked back at Martha, who seemed just as surprised. Apparently they weren't this close before Lia got there.

"You're right, Mrs. Kent." Lia commented. "Something's definitely happening tonight."

* * *

**11:00 PM**

_So, things got out of control_, Chloe thought as she listened to half of the Justice League talk about the infamous bet. When Chloe told Oliver about the rumors and later, in November, when she mentioned the bet, Oliver told Tess Mercer. Who in turn commented with Jimmy Olsen, then to Kara Kent, Clark's biological cousin that now lived in Metropolis. Kara, in one of her visits to Watchtower, mentioned it to Bruce Wayne, who talked to Bart Allen about it. One thing led to another, and all of them pretty much invited themselves to the New Years's party to see what happens. Martha had happily accepted the whole crew with open arms.

Chloe, Bart, Bruce and Kara had apparently already lost the bet, since they betted in early December and late November, which had passed for some time. All of the others who betted on late December or on the following months of 2010 were still on it.

"Look at them." Oliver said, nodding his head in their direction. Chloe looked behind her as discreetly as possible. Clark said something seriously and smiled tenderly after. Lois had her back to them and they saw when she rose on her tip toes and gave his cheek a lasting kiss. When Clark's eyes rose from her to them, as if he sensed they were watching, Chloe, Oliver, Bruce, Kara and Bart immediatly looked the other way and started talking about something random.

Chloe sighed. They were all over each other in that specific night. First there was the whole 'ripping out your clothes with my eyes' phase when they met for the first time that night. Clark turned into a bumbling, wide-eyed mess when Lois arrived wearing her flowy white dress that stopped just above her knees. Clark wore a white dress shirt, the top buttons released and a black formal jacket and pants. Walking side by side, they made quite a vision. After that, there was the 'let me just get a little closer' phase, where Clark had his arm around her shoulders and found many things to whisper in her ear. Now, they were at the 'there's never too much sweetness' phase, when they'd stare at each other when their better half wasn't looking and give little kisses on the cheek.

Honestly, if something didn't happen that day, Chloe would be very angry. She might have to force them into a dark, small room and lock them there until they dealt with their unresolved sexual tension.

* * *

**11:58 PM**

Everyone was getting ready for the countdown, couples gathered at the center and groups of single people coming together at the corners, with champagne glasses on their hands.

Clark walked to the group of single men while Lois walked to the girl's group, on the other side of the room. When he got there, the men didn't welcome him.

"I refuse to let him spend the countdown with us when he's got whipped all over his face." Bart had whispered to Oliver, who nodded in agreement. Clark didn't hear them.

"Hey, Clark?" Bruce called him and the men looked at him expectantly. "Lois called you over. She's said it's an urgency."

"Urgency? Right now?" Clark had asked confused, looking around for her.

"Yep, she's right over there, buddy." Bruce pointed to the center of the room. Clark looked puzzled, but walked towards the pointed direction anyway, leaving the men satisfied.

While that was happening, Lois got to the girl's group.

"I'm sick of this already." Chloe had commented to Lia as Lois approached. "We have to do something. I talked to Bruce, he's gonna send Clark to the center, where all the couples are. We need to send her there." Chloe whispered, as Lois who had already gotten to their little group, chatted away with Martha. Lia nodded to Chloe, agreeing to be part of it.

"Hey, Lois." Lia called. "Clark is calling you right there." She pointed at the center of the room.

Lois raised an eyebrow.

"He might as well wait, it's two minutes left to midnight." Lois shrugged her shoulders.

"He said it's an urgency." Lia insisted.

"Smallville doesn't have urgencies."

"But it's very important-"

"Why can't I talk to him after midnight? I'm sure he can wait two minutes." Lois argued.

"It really can't wait, you gotta go right now." Lia turned Lois on her back and pushed her into the crowd of couples that were in the center. Lois had no choice but to sigh and follow to the direction Lia had pointed out.

**_11:59 PM_**

Everybody, specially the group of men and women that had set it up, watched silently. Clark and Lois hadn't met yet, they were both still walking towards the center, in the middle of the many people slow dancing to no music at the Talon, waiting for the right time to kiss. The watchers hoped Lois and Clark would consider doing the same thing.

**_10_**

The countdown started and Lois and Clark had just met in the middle.

**_9_**

They exchanged a few words, their smiles were wide.

**_8_**

They looked around, all those couples coming closer, they looked like they were wondering if they should do that too, since they were there. Just like planned by their friends.

**_7_**

They looked at each other.

**_6_**

A beat. A blink. A breath.

**_5_**

A hand on Clark's chest, tentative, testing. The watchers chewed on their nails, breathed harder.

**_4_**

Two hands on the sides of her waist.

**_3_**

The watchers waited, 2010 couldn't come any slower...

**_2_**

Their lips were as close as they had ever been, the watchers were sure of it. It was happening, it had to happen, everybody on that town was waiting for months. Exactly because of that, the group of watchers grew immensely, not just Clark and Lois' friends now, it was pretty much the whole room. Waiting. Who would win the bet?

**_1_**

And then it happened. Before the clock reached midnight, they kissed. They did it without missing a beat, only parting to meet again, the whole room quiet. All the surprised faces slowly transformed into full wide grins and nobody even remembered to scream "Happy New Year" as the calender changed it's day, month and year. When the two of them finally parted completely, they turned to the crowd and they all kept the silence, processing what had just happened.

As Lois and Clark scanned the crowd that has been watching them, Clark amused and- Wait why was Clark amused? As Lois began to laugh, they wondered the reason as well. Ok, they could be happy, but knowing them as many people on that room knew, they would be embaressed, maybe a little angry at the set up, probably nervous. But not amused.

"You should see your faces." Lois said loudly, to no one in particular. Their grins faltered and some already wore confused expression as she untangled herself from Clark and walked towards the improvised stage, grabbing the microphone.

"So..." She started to speak to the crowd through the microphone. "First of all, happy New Year. Everybody seems to have forgotten about that." She raised an eyebrow accusingly. "But I'm here to tell you a couple of things. A little time ago, Clark and I noticed that there's a rumor going around and guess who it's about?" Lois asked not really expecting an answer. "That's right, it's about me and him. And we thought, 'well, gossip happens in every small town, it's okay', but guess what again?" She asked and the crowd watched both Lois at the stage and Clark coming up to stand beside her, with two glasses of champagne in his hands.

"Wanna take a guess, Smallville?" She directed the microphone to his mouth.

"They were betting on us, Lois?" He asked, his tone indicating he knew very well the answer. The mutters of the crowd started, some too shocked to talk, some too shocked not to say something.

"Exactly." Lois added and pauses for a second. "Next time you guys try to bet on someone behind their backs make sure they're not reporters."

"Well, I think..." Clark talked on the mic held out by Lois. "...that we deserve to at least know who's won the bet."

"He's right." Lois said. "Could you tell us who has the closest date, Lia?"

The shock only grew at Lia's name. Lois and Clark knew about the rumors, the bets and that Lia was responsible for this.

Lia, after a moment of silent shock, approached the stage as she unfolded the list that was carefully tucked away in her dress before. After staring at the list for long seconds and feeling the crowd's tension, Lia finally said:

"There's a bet for December 31st and one for January 1st." The crowd began to whisper among themselves.

"If I remember correctly," Lois started and smiled at Clark briefly. "which I do, the kiss lasted from the last seconds of December 31st until the first sec-the first _minute_ of January 1st. The two of them will have to split the prize."

"Exactly, $700 each." Lia told them and, this time, even Lois and Clark were surprised.

"Who was it?" Someone screamed from the crowd.

Lia checked the list.

"December31st was chosen by Chase Kash and January 1st by Lexie Labb."

The people looked around trying to find the winners, but nobody presented themselves.

"It's possible that they are fake names. We allowed people to use fake names in the bet in case the two of you ever found the list." Lia explained to Lois and Clark.

"But at least there's a phone number. Call them." Clark suggested and before Lia could even think about denying, the crowd cheered in agreement. They wanted to know who had won desperatly.

Lia grabbed her phone from her hand purse and dialed the number of the first winner, Chase.

A phone rang in the room and everybody went completely silent.

Clark, who still had two glasses of champagne, gave one to Lois and grabbed something from his pocket with his free hand. His phone. His ringing phone. The whispers in the crowd grew. Clark answered the phone and Lia opened her mouth several times but nothing came out of it.

"You're Chase Kash?" She finally asked. The crowd went silent again, waiting for the answer.

"I'm Clark Kent," He started with a smile. "but yes, my bet was under the name Chase Kash."

"Call the other one!" Someone yelled from the crowd, asking to call Lexie Labb, the January 1st better.

"If you want to call just to be sure, be my guest," Lois said. "but we all know whose phone is going to be ringing." She smiled. It was confirmed, Clark and Lois had won the bet on themselves.

"But they can't bet, they _are _the bet." Someone from the crowd spoke.

"Well, since we weren't informed of that bet and since y'all were so confident that we weren't going to find it out that you never even considered to put up some kind of rule that we weren't allowed to bet, we can and we did bet." Lois explained with a shrug of shoulders.

"Happy New Year" Clark said and clinked his champagne glass with Lois' in a toast.

* * *

**The Aftermath**

**January 1st, 2010**

**1:30 AM**

"How did you figure it out?" Chloe asked.

The party was over and Clark, his mom, Lois and Chloe went back to the farmhouse. Clark smiled at the question.

"We figured out a while ago. We heard a conversation between Lia and one of the bettors." Lois answered.

"You mean we eavesdropped a conversation, right Lois?" Clark corrected and Lois rolled her eyes, muttering a 'whatever'.

"And when did that happen?" His mom asked.

"November 30th." He answered promptly, a hint of smile on his face. Memories of that day flooded his mind and Lois smiled playfully at him with a raised eyebrow, as if she could read his mind.

"But how did you make your bets without Lia knowing?" Chloe asked confused.

"We went to the Talon's computer, left the twenty dollars each and put our fake names and real numbers on the list of bettors." Lois explained.

What Lois really meant is that she convinced him to use his super speed to do it without nobody seeing it. He accepted because he wanted to see everybody's face at the New Year's party, which was the date they had chosen to make their play. Lois had said New Year's would be perfect, because there was the chance of using two different days since everybody waited up for midnight.

"I'm impressed." Chloe confessed with a proud smile. Then, like she suddenly remembered something heartbreaking, her smile faded and her eyes widened slightly. "Does this mean that the countdown kiss was all an act?"

"Yes."

"No."

Lois and him answered, respectively. He looked at her confused and she just smiled, silently asking for time to explain.

"It was an act, but not how you think." She started. At the confused expressions from his mom, Chloe and himself, Lois continued. "What I mean is that when we thought about it when we decided to put our betting names on New Year's day, it was supposed to be an act, but when we came back here that same day..." She looked at him briefly. "...things changed.

* * *

**November 30th, 2009**

They entered the Kent Farm laughing, throwing their heads back and holding their bellies. It was too much fun to imagine the faces of all those people who played them when they figured out they were being played right back. Even his mom was in the bet, and not just her, but at least a dozen of his and Lois' friends. They didn't even live in Smallville, how could them have known about the bet?

It didn't matter, what mattered was that it would be fun. He was happy now that he obliged when Lois asked him to listen to Lia Malbrock's conversation about them. Or else, this wouldn't be happening and they wouldn't be able to see everyone's shocked faces at the New Year's party.

When Lois gradually stopped laughing and her face took a thoughtful expression, he asked what happened.

"Don't you think it's weird that all those people betted on us?" She had answered with a question.

"Why? What are you thinking?" He asked. The sudden change of behaviour confused him.

"I just think it's strange that they think we have feelings for each other and believe in it so much they're willing to bet money on it." She crossed her arms and started to pace around the land, the fluff grass molding her steps. He raised an eyebrow. "If it was just a couple of people I'd understand, but from what we've seen on that computer, it's way more than 50 people, and a chunk of it is composed by our closest friends. By your mom." She continued to pace.

Now that the laughter had died down and he thought about it, it really was kind of weird. His mother and Chloe's names were there, and they had never mentioned Lois as a potential romantic interest for him, and since they seemed to always want to torture him by talking about his love life, this was strange. They betted on him and Lois as a couple, but yet they never even mentioned anything that could lead Clark to believe they saw some kind of connection between him and her.

"I mean, it might be kind of weird, but-" He tried, but Lois interrupted him, never stopping the pacing.

"It just doesn't make sense, Clark." She called him by his name, not his usual nickname he now was fond of. He studied her as she moved, she was nervous. Anxious. She was starting to realize something he wasn't yet quite grasping. He decided to repeat his earlier question.

"What are you thinking?" As soon as he said it, she stopped pacing in front of him, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm thinking that, as reporters, we can't ignore the facts." She started, uncrossing her arms. "There are dozens of people betting we will or already have some kind of romantic relationship. They obviously see something that we don't."

"See something that we don't? I don't under-"

"Clark." She said his name again and he stopped. Her hazel eyes were slightly wide and her voice had a breathy sound he wasn't used to hearing. "How does so many people can think we have feelings for each other if we don't?"

He opened his mouth to say something multiple times, but couldn't find the words in any of them. He'd like to say that her logic made no sense, but how could he say that he and Lois were the right ones when there was a small army betting that they were actually the wrong, confused and blind ones?

He decided to follow her logic, see where it could go. He connected some dots in his mind.

"I mean, if you think about it, it kind of makes sense." He started, at her disbelieving look, he continued. "We're very-" She interrupted him again:

"It doesn't make sense, Clark! We're complete opposites."

"They always said opposites attract."

"But-"

He did the interrupting now, his thoughts running like river inside his mind.

"I'm very introspective, while you can't hold any thought inside you."

"You mean you're broody and I'm-" Not letting her finish, he continued his study of them.

"I'm careful, you're careless."

"I'm not careless! I'm just-"

"I'm usually quiet, you can talk for hours and hours and hours..." He smiled, remembering all those times she talked about her day, or maybe a story she had just written, another dirty politician she exposed...She'd get that glint in her eyes, that smile on her lips.

"You're the one that can't hold your side of the conversation!" Her voice and face indicated that she was really frustrated at how the conversation turned out. He smiled and appreciated the way her eyes brightned with anger when she realised he was having fun at her expense.

"You're way too determined." He said.

"You're too indecisive!"

"You're too independent for your own good."

"You're overprotective." She crossed her arms, her face still hard and angry.

They stood in silence for a few moments. His eyes searched hers for the understanding he had just felt. It did make sense. And he understood it now.

"Maybe all those people aren't so wrong, Lois."

She studied him for a second with a frown. Before he could think properly, he reached to her and grazed his thumb on her forehead, between her eyebrows, making her frown disappear. He caught himself little time after it, forcing his hand to his side.

"What are you saying?" She asked, and he realized he couldn't remember.

"I don't know." He confessed absent-minded. His eyes looking for any confirmation that he wasn't feeling whatever it was that he suddenly felt alone.

She laughed nervously and her smile was forced. "why don't we just forget about this and move on?"

He shook his head slowly, his ways still made him look innatentive, his mind processing everything about her, how her expression changed constantly and quickly, how her eyes darted away from his when she spoke something from her mind, how they locked back with his when she spoke from her heart.

"I can't forget it. Not anymore." He told her.

She visibly swallowed, and he stared at her moving throat, her graciously long neck...

When he stepped closer to her, so close he had to look slightly down and she slightly up, neither one of them noticed. His eyes met hers again and for a moment, he was sure they wanted the same thing, he just didn't know what it was.

"Maybe we should just-" She started in a whisper, he was so close that speaking louder than a whisper would have hurt his sensitive ears. "-I don't know what we should do." She confessed, breathy-voiced.

"We _shouldn't_ do anything." He answered, using the same voice volume. "But we _could _do a lot." His hands were anxiously asking him to touch her, and he let them. He placed them on the sides of her waist and waited. She didn't flinch, not even a blink. He lowered them slowly and gently to her hips, barely grazing. His eyes left hers for a split second to look at her lips, and then back again to her eyes, the end of the afternoon sunlight turning them into a memorable green.

"Just do it." She whispered to him and he held back a smile, the determination he so fondly mentioned earlier shining in her eyes, the impatience that was so Lois showing as her hands trailed up his chest to the back of his neck, making his skin burn from the inside out. He felt his heart racing even more than it already had, aching in his chest. Aching for her.

Throwing any other useless thought out the window, he kissed her. His fingers automatically pressed harder against her hips, and as she kissed him back and grabbed a handful of his hair at the back of his head, he thought that maybe there wasn't anything else in the universe but them, their hands, their lips.

He tried pulling her closer only to find out she was already completely pressed against him, his hands exploring her back as the intensity of the kiss grew. The giving and taking, the parting and meeting, it made him dizzy and steady, anxious and relaxed.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, but when they finally parted their lips and joined their foreheads, simply happy for being able to experience that moment, with their eyes slowly opening and breathing slowly rearranging, he noticed it was already nightime.

With her in his arms, he suddenly and vaguely remembered what he had said earlier. _"Maybe these people aren't so wrong, Lois."_

Maybe they're not wrong at all.

* * *

**January 1st**

"We've been together ever since." He explained to the shocked faces of Chloe and his mother.

"You've been together for a month? And we didn't know?" Chloe asked, more to herself than them.

"Well, cut yourselves some slack, you were too busy spreading rumors and betting on us." Lois pointed out and they all laughed.

They went silent for a moment, his mom and Chloe looking at both of them with tenderness. They exchanged glances before his mother said,

"We're very happy for you."

He and Lois smiled, first at each other, then at Chloe and his mom.

"We're very happy for us, too."

* * *

One week later, the rumors about when Lois and Clark would get together had long stopped, but there was already some residents that were planning the next bet of the town, this time, it would be top secret, the subjects of the bet would never find out.

"Which date do you want?" Lia asked the bettor.

"I want November 30th." Chloe answered, thinking that they'd want at least two years of dating. Well, she'd want two years, he would probably be good with 6 months. "_November 30th, 2011_. If we they're not married by then, I'll be shocked."

**_The end._**


End file.
